Gaining Pace

• Depending on the starting weight of the mother each woman should gain a different amount of pregnancy weight to help support her growing baby. Overweight women should gain around 15 pounds, average weight women should gain between 25 and 35 pounds while underweight women will need to gain between 35 and 45 pounds.
  Each woman will gain weight at her own pace, but it is not uncommon to gain very little in the first trimester due to bouts of morning sickness. The American Pregnancy Association assures that this is normal and not harmful to the baby. Some morning sickness is so severe that weight loss is experienced in the first trimester. In this case, a doctor will need to be consulted. The majority of the weight gain will be split between the last two trimesters fairly evenly.
  
  

Importance

• The right amount of weight gain is very important to the health of the baby. When not enough weight is gained, the baby may have problems developing. In extreme circumstances, the placenta will detach from the uterine walls in an attempt to protect the fetus. Low weight gain of the mother often results in induction of birth to save the child. Problems can also arise from too much weight gain. The major concern for extreme weight gain is gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is not only harmful to the child, but it results in very large babies who will often need to be delivered by cesarean section. To avoid fetal and birthing complications, it is important to keep weight gain on track.
  
  

Causes

• While weight gain is a crucial part of pregnancy, it is not all maternal body fat being gained. Much of the weight gain will come from the baby. By the end of the third trimester, the weight gain will be between 7.5 to 8.5 pounds of pure baby. Weight gain also includes on average between 1.5 to 2 pounds of placenta, 2 pounds of amniotic fluid, 1.5 to 2 pounds of breast gain and 2 to 2.5 pounds of uterine muscle gain. Additionally, the body will retain an extra 4 pounds of water weight and produce an additional 3 pounds of blood to help support the baby. No more than 10 pounds should be actual body fat, less for overweight women and more for underweight women.
  
  

How to Gain

• Because gaining the right amount of pregnancy weight is so important, it is equally important to know how to gain this weight. Typically, adding only 200 to 300 calories to any regular diet will allow a woman of average weight to gain the amount needed. An overweight woman will need only 100 extra calories a day, while an underweight woman may need as many as 600 extra calories a day for a sufficient amount of pregnancy weight gain.
  
  

Losing the Weight

• The best thing about weight gain during pregnancy is that a lot of the weight will disappear within a month or two after giving birth. Ten pounds will likely disappear before checking out of the hospital because the child, fluids and placenta usually weigh at least that amount. However, it will take some time before the body can completely recuperate. Women who gained the right amount of weight take between 6 months to 1 year to lose all of the pregnancy weight, although some women take more or less time.